Best Strategy for Slipped bolt?

[thescreensavers]

FSM says these should only be 41-49 ft/lbs but they are on way tighter, maybe because of time? Or maybe the dealer was in here. Any how

I tried by hand using my 3/8ths socket wrench, did not budge, I then got my cheap socket wrench and added a pipe, I thought it broke loose but it just stripped ;(

Whats the best strategy for this, I am going to buy PB Plaster(threads arent showing not sure how to use it?), and a 6pt 14mm 1/2 inch socket(my 3/8ths is 6pt as well). So I can use my 24inch breaker bar, Which will also help the other ones I need to take off as well. I got 6 more to go, first one went fine this is the second one.


I know I need to buy a new one, hopefully only one.

 

[LTC8K6]

Impact wrench.

 

[iamwiz82]

That's not stripped badly yet. Sure you have the correct socket size?

 

[thescreensavers]

Impact wrench.

Dont have one

That's not stripped badly yet. Sure you have the correct socket size?

Yea, I stopped right away, Yes its 14mm, 13mm wont fit.

I am replacing my swaybar endlinks which is an easy job 2 bolts, This is an extra "since I am there" replacing the sway bushings, I have to call the dealer near me to see if they sell these bolts before I continue. Fastener stores are not open on the weekends.

Whats the best way to apply force to a nut.

Constant or Like an impact wrench(on off on off)

 

[Bignate603]

Hard to tell from the pictures, but can you get spray the PB blaster on the other side of the bolt? If you can spray it more directly on the threads you'll have better luck.

I've also had better luck with better sockets. The cheap stuff seems to not fit well and round stuff without much force. I'm not talking about buying really expensive professional sorts of stuff, just something a few steps up from the really cheaply made stuff. Spending a few bucks extra on a good set of sockets is cheaper than paying somebody to extract a rounded bolt.

 

[Sluggo]

Are you sure the socket didn't split after using a cheater bar on it? Look carefully the split isn't always easy to see. It doesn't look like the bolt is stripped, and having split some sockets, it feels like the bolt breaks loose, but what I felt was the socket breaking.

 

[thescreensavers]

So I went to look at my sockets again, and the 14mm I was using is 12 pt!! I thought for sure it was 6point, I am going to toss em....


I only buy Craftsman or Duralast Sockets which I consider to be decent.

I also found a 10mm to be 12 pt, it looks like my inexperience self in 09 bought what was in sale which is usually the 12pts lol.


So will a 6pt really make the difference?

 

[arcenite]

So I went to look at my sockets again, and the 14mm I was using is 12 pt!! I thought for sure it was 6point, I am going to toss em....


I only buy Craftsman or Duralast Sockets which I consider to be decent.

I also found a 10mm to be 12 pt, it looks like my inexperience self in 09 bought what was in sale which is usually the 12pts lol.


So will a 6pt really make the difference?

Yes.

 

[jlee]

^^

Use a 6pt socket and a breaker bar. Try using a jerky sort of snapping motion to loosen it instead of just applying consistent increasing torque - less chance of snapping the head off the bolt that way.

 

[LordMorpheus]

Dont have one




Yea, I stopped right away, Yes its 14mm, 13mm wont fit.

I am replacing my swaybar endlinks which is an easy job 2 bolts, This is an extra "since I am there" replacing the sway bushings, I have to call the dealer near me to see if they sell these bolts before I continue. Fastener stores are not open on the weekends.

Whats the best way to apply force to a nut.

Constant or Like an impact wrench(on off on off)

Could be an english size, too. Having the proper socket on there makes a world of difference.

And if it's not a torque-to-yield I wouldn't bother replacing the bolt. That's not even closed to stripped.

 

[Eli]

LOL, that's not stripped.

 

[Howard]

Get a better socket to start, so that there's less play inside.

Second, what may happen (but hasn't really happened yet) is rounding, not stripping. Stripping happens with threads.

 

[Eli]

I guess I tend to use 'stripped' for both.

A philips head screw gets stripped.. though I suppose rounded would technically work there too.

 

[Ferzerp]

That bolt is in no way rounded. Get quality sockets that actually fit 😉

 

[Bignate603]

It it was a 12 point socket you'll be much better off with a 6 point. I just took off some really stuck bolts on my jeep's steering box that I couldn't get with my 24" breaker even after soaking them down for a week. I ended up sliding a 4 foot cheater on it to get it to break loose, The bolts came right off without any rounding at all. Two came off whole and one came off in pieces 😉 I didn't care though because it broke off in the steering box that I just needed for a core charge.

 

[Howard]

I guess I tend to use 'stripped' for both.

A philips head screw gets stripped.. though I suppose rounded would technically work there too.

Philips heads don't get stripped... they get , along with the person who uses them.

Go Robertson!

Not the place for the profanity leave it in OT...

AT Moderator
Bartman39

 

[SithSolo1]

I did the rotors on my G35 and noticed the caliper bolts were on super tight. After an hour of struggling with it we bought an impact wrench at Home Depot, no go. (Yes it was cheap) Came back broke 1 ratchet and cracked one socket trying to get it lose. Finally made like a 5 foot breaker bar with some pipe I found up on a rack in the garage and got it done no sweat. There is no way in hell it was to spec and the dealer was the last one to touch it.

 

[Miramonti]

So I went to look at my sockets again, and the 14mm I was using is 12 pt!! I thought for sure it was 6point, I am going to toss em....


I only buy Craftsman or Duralast Sockets which I consider to be decent.

I also found a 10mm to be 12 pt, it looks like my inexperience self in 09 bought what was in sale which is usually the 12pts lol.


So will a 6pt really make the difference?

Yeah, 12pt's are a great way to quickly turn a day of productivity into a day of disaster. Fortunately you were wise enough early on to take a step back and reevaluate before things got too bad. Much of auto repair work is simply having the right tool for the job, and using patience and sensibility when you don't.

 

[kornphlake]

+1 for whoever mentioned using a metric socket on an standard bolt. While the majority of all cars are now using metric bolts, there are still some odd standard fasteners, spark plugs for example are typically standard not metric.

Just because the torque spec for a bolt is 40 ft-lbs doesn't mean it will come back out with 40 ft-lbs, corrosion occurs between the threads and locks bolts in place, especially when the bolt material is different than the material the bolt threads into, or threads that are subjected to extreme temperature fluctuations. It's probably not the dealer's fault, just a fact of life, that's why mechanics have breaker bars and impact wrenches.

 

[Ferzerp]

+1 for whoever mentioned using a metric socket on an standard bolt. While the majority of all cars are now using metric bolts, there are still some odd standard fasteners, spark plugs for example are typically standard not metric.

Just because the torque spec for a bolt is 40 ft-lbs doesn't mean it will come back out with 40 ft-lbs, corrosion occurs between the threads and locks bolts in place, especially when the bolt material is different than the material the bolt threads into, or threads that are subjected to extreme temperature fluctuations. It's probably not the dealer's fault, just a fact of life, that's why mechanics have breaker bars and impact wrenches.

If that's not a metric bolt, they've gone totally against the convention. If there are numbers on the bolt to denote the strength of the bolt, it's metric. If there are lines (the more lines, the stronger the bolt), it is standard.

edit: then again, metric sized bolt grades have a decimal point in them, so.......

 

[thescreensavers]

Everything on this car is MM other than thhr sparkplugs so far.

Anyhow. thanks for the help guys, I ultimately decided not to bother with them since the dealer did not have replacement bolts and it was just an extra thing to do

 

[thescreensavers]

Just because the torque spec for a bolt is 40 ft-lbs doesn't mean it will come back out with 40 ft-lbs, corrosion occurs between the threads and locks bolts in place, especially when the bolt material is different than the material the bolt threads into, or threads that are subjected to extreme temperature fluctuations. It's probably not the dealer's fault, just a fact of life, that's why mechanics have breaker bars and impact wrenches.

I understand, what I meant by the dealer is that they usually just use a air gun and over tighten things.

 

[angry hampster]

I highly suggest Craftsman's "Bolt Out" kit:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...5&blockType=G5

I used it on two bolts that stripped when I was replacing a sway bar over the summer. Stupid midwest rust.

 

[JCH13]

No way you need to resort to a bolt extractor just yet...

Just use a 6-point and you should be fine.

 

[kornphlake]

If that's not a metric bolt, they've gone totally against the convention. If there are numbers on the bolt to denote the strength of the bolt, it's metric. If there are lines (the more lines, the stronger the bolt), it is standard.

edit: then again, metric sized bolt grades have a decimal point in them, so.......

that number could mean anything, in the world of high volume purchasing the grade of the bolt might be stamped on the certificate of conformity and the bolt head left blank in order to save a few hundred dollars on a million bolts.

The bolt in the pictures, to me, looks like it was rounded off by the wrong size socket, not a 12 point socket. It is difficult to judge in a photo though.